Corruption
by Broken Tourniquet
Summary: A quilt stricken and troubled single mother had a night years ago that left her and her daughter scarred and she fights everyday for the strength to get up but Jazel makes it worth the pain but when offered a chance to help a certain archaeologist a week changes her way of thinking and makes her question herself and more importantly the night those years ago, She's not as helpless.


"Mommy!" Jazel jumped up and down excitedly. "Lift me up! I wanna see the ocean better!" Kara rose an eyebrow at the girl and smile. "Mommy!" The girl was impatient but this was her daughter so it didn't surprise her even if she normally was patient. Jazel pouted at her mother.

"Okay okay baby doll." Kara chuckled giving in. It was easy to lift the girl onto her shoulders sometimes she weighed nothing. She was lucky the scars weren't acting up because she enjoyed moments like this. "Hold on tight baby doll." She had to laugh as clumsy hands grabbed underneath her chin to stay afloat but just for precaution she laced her hands behind her daughters back in case her clumsy hold wasn't enough.

"Whoa! Mom it's so blue!" She had to laugh at that. Her princess was just adorable. "Oh wow! Mom can we come back when the sunsets?! I Bet it's even more beautifuller then!" To Jazel nothing was more rewarding than seeing things she's never seen before. She was inquisitive and wondrous. She would soak up anything she could learn and want to learn even more and most took her constant questions as her just being annoyance but it was her wanting to know more.

"That it is." Kara turned around to find who was talking. Two women and one looked to be of Asian decent she noted but she recognized them both from TV. "It is actually one of the few beautiful things about this city. Minus La-" Lara elbowed her with a blush. "What?" Sam gave an innocent look. Although the two 'celebrities' she recognized she felt uneasy about new people she didn't know around her daughter. Her ability to trust had all but depleted over the years and although Lara she knew was trustworthy and would never hurt her daughter she just felt uneasy. She was an overprotective mother.

"OH!" Jazel smiled excitedly. "It's Them!" She had become a big fan of the two after hearing. reading, and watching their adventures although she never understood why her mother would say rainbow confetti came out of things when they where shot or stabbed. She knew much better than that and would often call her out because of that. "It's the awesome team!" Kara scrunched her nose as Lara rose an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip.

"Awesome team?" She asked the girl amusingly.

"Yeah! Cause like you guys are awesome!" She exclaimed. Sam giggled and smiled at the girl. "Specially the way she," She pointed to Sam. "Is able to get those awesome shots and make you look so cool!"

"Told you it was the camera work." Sam teased. Lara rolled her eyes and kissed her cheek.

"Baby doll it's time to get down." Kara interrupted. Jazel frowned.

"B-but!"

"Sorry baby I'm starting to hurt a little." Jazel stayed quiet and let her mother set her back on the bench beside her. She knew her mother couldn't help it when she begun to hurt so she never held it against her but she liked being that tall or at least feeling that tall. Jazel sat on the bench criss crossed and hands happily in her lap as she watched her mother and the two interact. Kara held out her hand. "I'm Kara." Lara smiled and took her hand.

"I'm Lara Croft. You knew that already didn't you?" She gave Jazel a quick look whom smiled and nodded. "This is my wife Samantha." Sam shook Kara's hand as well with a smile.

"Wife?" Jazel asked. Kara shook her head. "Don't you mean Super amazing awesome wife?!" Kara bit back a laugh.

"See she gets it." Sam commented with a grin.

"Oh hush you." Sam rolled her eyes and sat beside Jazel. "I need to talk to you about an artifact-"

"Oh no...work stuff." Jazel sighed.

"I know the feeling." Sam copied the sigh earning a look from both women. "How about I take you to the hot dog stand across the street while they work?"

"Yeah!"

"Jazel I don't-" Kara wasn't very sure about that.

"Please?" Those eyes...she couldn't resist...she just couldn't.

"Okay. Stay in my line of sight though." She ordered more to Sam. Sam jumped up and saluted her.

"Come on mini me!" Sam joked taking the girls hand.

"If I'm a mini you can I have a camera like yours?" Jazel asked with a halo of a smile.

"She has some promise!" Lara knew better than that. Within a week the girl would carry a camera everywhere and film everything to.

"Sam no. Do not corrupt the poor child!" Lara exclaimed as she and the girl headed to the stand.

"I won't much!"

"Oh my god." Lara gave Kara a horrified look. "I am so sorry. I think she might corrupt that little angel." Kara laughed at that.

"Well she is my daughter so it wouldn't be to far from the tree." Lara opened her mouth to ask about that but Kara interrupted her before she could ask. "You said you wanted something?" She uncomfortably put a hand in her back pocket.

"Oh right. I've been looking for something and I was told you might have it so I came to see if I could-"

"Buy it? No." She crossed her arms. "I know what you're after but it's a family heirloom and I can't give it up."

"No I want to examine it." Lara corrected. "I was on a dig sight in Egypt a couple of years back and there was something missing. A trinket. A bracelet. I do understand it is worth a lot of money but that is not what I am interested in. I'd just like to know all pieces are accounted for." Kara shifted her feet. It wasn't a lie. As far Lara knew the bracelet was supposed to be part of Cleopatra's personal collection and she had expected it to be there as she had worn it often but when it wasn't she decided to dig a little and though it took her awhile she had found it.

"It bugs you that much? I understand but it's been in my family for-" Lara held up her hand with a smile.

"I am not asking you to let go of it." She explained. "I just want to examine it and put the little pieces together...metaphorically speaking." Kara wasn't impressed. "I do understand that you and your daughter are nearly homeless as well. Just a week I promise and for your troubles we'll pay you." Tempting.

"We?"

"Sam and I." Lara smiled. "She loves all of this as much as I do. It grew on her more and more over the years. I told her that you where a descendant of Cleopatra and she got excited and wondered if she could get an interview about your family history." Kara nodded. "Than of course she said "I hope she's foxy and a whole lot of woman!"." Kara's nose scrunched up at the reference. "Yeah my reaction to."

"I just hope she doesn't start quoting that in front of me. I think it'd be awkward." Lara agreed with a chuckle. "I don't know how we could make it back-"

"Don't worry about that. All expenses paid in full from the flight there to the flight back." Sam added in as she took one of Lara's hands in hers. "Did you talk to her about the offer?" Lara nodded.

"Alright. As long as I can get the bracelet back." She ran a thumb across the brown skin on arm against the edge of a scar.

"Oh no problem about that cotton candy." Sam smiled. Oh lord. She was commenting on Kara's pink streaked dark hair.

"I'll only examine it with your presence. I understand it's hard to trust." Lara smiled.

"Okay fine." Jazel didn't pay any attention to them as she tried to see how much of the hot dog she could fit in her mouth. "Baby don't do that your gonna choke."

"I wanna see how much stuff I can fit in my mouth." Jazel pouted.

"Wanna try it with ice cream instead?" Sam asked Jazel nodded. "When we get home I'll show you how to play chubby bunny."

"Sam no."

"When can you be available to leave?" Sam asked.

"We where actually kicked out of our temporary hotel paradise so anytime." She saw Sam's face light up in sympathy for her and it twisted her stomach. She didn't mean to guilt anyone. She hated doing that.

"Good. We can leave tonight." Sam stated sternly.

"Whoa. You mean we're going to the shiny palace?" Lara rose an eyebrow at the girl.

"She has a...vivid imagination." Sam smiled at the girl.

"I think she's adorable."

"Bloody so." Lara shook her head with a smile.

"Wait till she makes a mess." Kara commented.

"Road trip!" Jazel announced happily.


End file.
